Boot or shoe heel.



Patented July 9, 1918.

JOHN P. REILY, OF ST. LOTIIS, MISSOURI.'

BOOT R SHOE HEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented -Juply 9, 1918.

Application iledAugust 27,. 1917. Serial No. 188,332.

To all whom z't may concern:

Beit known that I,.JoHN P. REILY, a citizen of the United. States,residing at thel city of St. Louis,V State of Missouri, have invented acertain new anduseful Improvement in Boot or Shoe Heels, ofl which the.-following; is a full', clear, and exact description, such as willenable others skilled in the. art to whichk it appertai-ns to make andusethe same, reference beinghad to the ac- Y companying drawings,formingpart of this speci'cation..

My invention relates generally'v to footwear, and more particularly to aheel for boots, yshoesandthe like, the principal object of my inventionrbeing to wholly eliminate the leather now generally used in themanufacture of heels and to construct a comparatively simple andineXpensiveheel from metal rubber, wood, orthe like, these elementsbeing assembled so as .to provide a very strong andsubstantial'heel,thesame being resilient or yieldingto a certain .degree a portion oftheheel capable of be1ng easily andquiekl'yjremoved in order to renew partswhich' have become worn or unfit for service.

A further object of Vmy invention .is to provide a heel having a.plurality of vreadily i'nserti'ble plugsvportions of which1 project fromthe lundersideof the heel' to provide ground-'gripping orengagingmembers, said Vplugs being preferablyconstructed of hardenedmetal-in order to resist wear, and

thereby materially strengthen the life or term of service ofl the' heel.

With! the foregoing'land 'other objects in view, my invention consistsincertain novel features of construction and arrangement of partshereinafter more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the'yaccompanying drawing, in which;

Figure 1 is a vertical secti'onxtaken centrally throughV the rearportion of a bootor shoe and-showing` a heel/of my improvedconstruction. applied thereto ;v d

Fig. Qis aY perspective view of the upper member of the housing whichforms the body of my improved heel;

Fifg. 3 is a perspective view of the lower: Y

e 1. The means utilized for' locking the lower Fig. 4-.1is a perspectiveview ofv a filler member ofthe housing;

` and 13 the heel seat.

insertible plugs forming a part of my improved heel;

F ig; 7 is a detail section taken approximately on the line 7-7. of.Fig. 1;y

Fig., 8 is adetail section `illustrating a d modified form of theinsertiblek plug utilized in my improved heel.

Referring by numerals to the accompanyingdrawing, 10 designates the vampof a boot or shoe, 11 the outer sole, 12`the` insole,

The heel contemplated by my invention includes a housing, the samebeingV formed in two parts and shaped similar tothe ordinary leatherheels now in general use. The; upper part ofthe housing comprises' aplate 14 which. is slightly concave so as to fit snugly againstthe'heelseat 13, said ,plate being provided with suitably located aperturesl'which receive tacks, screws, or like fastening devices which serve tofirmly secure'the upper part of they housingl to the rear portion ofthesole of the boot or shoe. e

Formed integral with the edge' ofpla'te 14 is-a depending wall 16, and'formed integral with the lower edge of said Wallis a depending flange17, the same -beinggapproximately half the width-of the wall 16. Thelowerv partof the housingcomprises a plate 18y in which is formed aseries of openings 19 adapted to receive the insertible plugshereinafter morefully described,` and formed integral with the edge. ofthis plate 18 is an upwardly projecting wall 20. Formed integral withkthis* wall andprojecting upwardly therefrom is a ange 21, the same beingapproximately half .the thickness ofthe wall 20. Flange 17 depen-ds fromthe .inner portion o1f`wa'll'16, and' flan-ge 21 pro-jects upwardly fromthe' outer portion of wall 20' so that when the two parts of the housingare properly assembled, flange 21 overlies flange 17, as illustrated inFig.

or removable portion of. the housing com dersides of the plugs 29 arepreferablyv prises a flat spring 22 which is fixed to the inside of thefront portion of flange 17, the freeendof said spring being'providedwith a hook 23, which latter extends horizontally outward through anaperture 24; formed in the front portion of flange 17. Formed in thefront portion of fiange 21 is an aperture 25 which is adapted to receivethe outer end .of hook 23` `whenthe Vtwo parts-'of the housing areproperly assembled (see Figs. 1 and 7 The two parts of the housing areprefv erably constructed `of metal, either cast,lor

of'sheet metal pressed to proper shape.

Removably positioned within the upper portion.l of the upper member oftheY housing, and ybearing directly against the underside of platey 14,is ablock or plate26 of wood or analogous material. Positioned beneathsaid block or plate is a Vsection 27 of rubber or analogous resilientmaterial, the

same being provided with an upwardly projecting marginal rib 28 whichbears directly i against the underside of the block or plate 26.

.openings 19 therein, and said flanges bearing directly against theunderside :of ythe rubber section 27. The tops of these plugs arepreferably recessed, as designated [by 31, in order to form pockets fromwhich the greater portion of the air is exhausted when the blocks are-pressed upwardly against the .rubbervsection 27, such action creatingsuction to cause the plugs to adhere tothe underside of said rubbersection. Theunmilled or corrugated, as designated by 32,

such construction enabling the plugs to firmly grip the vground orsurface with which they are in contactl and eliminatingv any tendenc' toslip -on smooth or wetsurfaces. Whi e I prefer to form these plugs orstuds of hardened metal, it will be'understood that in some instances itmaybev found desirable tol form them of rubber or a suitablecomposition.

In the modified construction illustrated in Fig. 8,r the insertibleplugs are shown in the form of spherical bodies, the same beingpreferably formed of hardenedv metal and j projecting through suitably'formed openings in the bottom of the housing,

A heel of. lmy improved l construction is comparativelyy simple, can beeasily and cheaply manufactured, and is provided with a series ofhardened metal plugs or ground engaging studs which normallyY bearagainst an elastic or yielding member, and said `and bearing'againstsaid elastic'body.

plugs or studs being readily removable to permit of their' being vtakenout and replaced when they become worn t0 sucha degree as to be unfitforI service. The housing or body ofthe heel may.be made ofcomparatively heavy material 'with the result that a very stronganddurable structure is produced, the same being particularly applicablefor use Yonthe footwear of persons whose duties involve a considerableamount of walking, and likewise forpersons engaged in farmworlr, mining,and the like. t

It will be readily understood that minor changes in the size,formandconstruction of the various parts 'of my improved heel may bemadeand substituted for those hereinshown and described, without departingfrom the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forth intheappended claims. I ,claimt l. Y j 1. A shoe heel comprising a housing,theh v lower portion of which is removable, a filler' block in the'upper portion of said housing, an elastic body within the housing belowsaid filler block, and a plurality of independently movablestudspositioned within the housing beneath the elastic member, por-` tions ofwhich studs project through the bottom of the housin'. j l

2. VA shoe heel comprising a' housing formed in two parts one of whichis re-...95 movably positioned uponthe other, an elas tic body withinsaid housing, and a plurality i of independently movable hardened metalstuds removably positioned in the housing v.100 3. The herein describedheel comprising a i` housing the bottom of' which lis provided with aseries of openings, anelastic body within said housing, and a series ofindependently l movable metal j studs Vbearing .,105 againstsaidelasticy body r and' projecting" through the 'openings inthe'bo'ttomvof said housing.k Y ,Y

4. The herein described heel comprising a housing, a filler blockpositioned there=.110

in, lan elastic member withinfsaid housing beneath the filler block, anda seriesof metal studs removably positioned in the bottom of the housingand bearing against said elastic member. l .l l .l

5. The herein described heelcomprising a housing having a detachableportion, hardened metal studs removably positioned in the removable partof the housing, and a yielding member within saidV housing against 120 pywhich said studs normallyengage.

6. rlhe herein describedh'eel'comprising a housing having a removablep'art,"mean`s for locking the removableJ partof thehousing to the otherpart, an elastiemember with1r125 in the housing, and a seriesof metalstuds bearing against said elastic member and projecting through thebottom of the housing.

7. A shoe heel comprising a housing havthe underside of the elasticmember and proing a removable part, means for locking jecting throughthe bottom of the removable said removable part of the housing to theportion of the housing. 10 other part, a filler block located in theupper In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my 5 part of the housing, anelastic member losignature this 24th day of August, 1917.

cated below the filler block, and a series of independently movablestuds bearing against l JOHN P. REILY.

Copie: of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washing-ton, D. 0.

